NOVEL WEB Chapter 103: What's That in Your Hand?
🔥🔥 You can find 40 chapters ahead here
Support link: pat_reon.com/Redon1
Also other exciting fanfic available 🔥🔥
----------------------------------------------------------
"Your manners are so bad now," Renz grumbled, a twitch at the corner of his mouth. He wondered who had taught her such colorful language.
"Hmph," Erina scoffed.
Thump, thump, thump—
A sudden knock at the door. Renz paused, surprised. Who could be looking for him here? Was it staff? Thinking this, Renz turned and opened the door. A familiar face, someone he'd recently met, appeared before him: Rindo Kobayashi, the female chef.
Apparently, on the day of the friendly match, she and Renz were both invited to this gourmet cooking show. She was the Second Seat of Totsuki Academy. Although Renz hadn't tasted her cooking, to hold the position of Second Seat at Totsuki, she must have some serious skills.
He had to admit, she was very beautiful. Her light red hair paired with pale golden eyes, revealing natural little fangs, gave her an uninhibited, mischievous charm when she smiled.
"Hello, I'm Rindo Kobayashi. We met a few days ago, didn't we?" Rindo Kobayashi greeted him right away with a friendly demeanor.
"Hello," Renz nodded politely. "Can I help you?"
"Mm, I'm your neighbor," Rindo Kobayashi explained truthfully. "We're sort of acquaintances, so I thought I'd come over and say hello. Since we're both participating in this show, we can look out for each other."
"That day, your cooking left a deep impression on me. I later tried your medicinal cuisine, and, mmm, it was delicious," Rindo Kobayashi said, her expression showing her licking her lips.
"I actually don't usually like medicinal cuisine because it has a strange taste, but that time, it completely changed my understanding of it."
"Oh, by the way, what's that in your hand?" Rindo Kobayashi noticed Renz was holding something unfamiliar in his left hand.
Oh, shoot.
Dang it. He'd forgotten to put the condoms back when he was teasing Erina.
"Nothing," Renz said calmly, putting the condoms back on the table. Just then, Rindo Kobayashi suddenly noticed another person in the room.
"Erina, what are you doing here?" Rindo Kobayashi asked curiously. She didn't interact much with Erina at school.
They seemed to be in the same circle, but they usually didn't hang out.
"I don't remember you participating in this show, do I?" Rindo Kobayashi couldn't help but ask. Regardless of anything else, it wasn't convenient for Erina to participate in this cooking show.
Because her mother, Mana Nakiri, was a judge. If Erina participated, it would be easy for people to suspect favoritism or backstage dealings, and no matter how fair Mana Nakiri was, she couldn't withstand malicious rumor-mongers.
However, that wasn't a concern anymore. Because Erina's mother... her God's Tongue had already reached its extreme limit. Any dish that wasn't to her liking would almost immediately trigger a physiological reaction of vomiting. In international competitions, she had repeatedly shown "vomiting" and "reduced appetite" after tasting top-ranked chefs' dishes from around the world.
When others were still devouring food, Mana Nakiri might not even need to offer a critique; her reaction alone would provide an answer.
This was a nightmare for all chefs. No one could easily accept that the food they meticulously prepared might become an object of vomiting or rejection in someone else's mouth. Countless master chefs had suffered defeats at her hands.
This also led to more and more people wanting to challenge the power of the God's Tongue, though most of the time, more people fell.
"I'm here as part of his friends and family support," Erina said casually.
"Friends and family?" Rindo Kobayashi nodded, indicating she understood. So, Renz and Erina were relatives! No wonder Renz's cooking was so amazing.
"Hmm... that day at the friendly match, Renz-kun... can I call you that?" Rindo Kobayashi hesitated for a moment.
"Yes, a name is just a form of address," Renz replied. He didn't mind what she called him, as long as he knew she was talking about him.
"Renz-kun's cooking seems very comprehensive. At the friendly match, I saw French cuisine, Chinese cuisine, and desserts. I heard Renz-kun's Japanese ramen is also very good," Rindo Kobayashi slowly said. "So, I'd like to know, Renz-kun, do you have any understanding of cooking rare ingredients?"
Rare ingredients generally implied a high basic value; just the raw materials could cost as much as an entire set meal from a master chef. Dishes made from such rare ingredients could cost a significant amount of money just for practice. Renz did know how to cook them, but he didn't use them often.
Erina's God's Tongue had also been in a "broken" state, and for a period, her taste was incredibly picky. Renz had no choice but to forcefully expand his culinary repertoire, adding projects he wasn't originally skilled in.
Rare ingredients were among the first types of dishes he researched after Erina's God's Tongue broke down. However, that was something he researched a long time ago, so how much skill he still possessed now was quite uncertain.
"A little," Renz said.
"In the center of this village, there's a public cooking demonstration stage. They provide a large quantity of ingredients for cooking demonstrations," Rindo Kobayashi said sincerely.
"I haven't encountered a fellow chef in a long time, Renz-kun. Would you be willing to have a Shokugeki with me?" Renz probably understood Rindo Kobayashi's intention.
She was likely there to exchange culinary skills. However, Renz hadn't cooked rare ingredients in well over a decade. Would this cooking exchange end up being "patient" guidance instead?
At this very moment, outside the leased hotel, in a space resembling a large plaza, the program team had transformed it into a vast arena. In the center of this arena, a single cooking table was set up. Around the arena, various refrigerated ingredients were displayed. Below the arena, even fresher, live ingredients were arranged.
"I just asked someone about this place. It seems the program team arranged it as a stage for everyone to practice their cooking skills during their leisure time," Datu, facing the live broadcast, acted like an ace commentator, truthfully reporting the information he'd gathered to the viewers in his live stream.
"However, the current scene seems a bit off?"
In the very center of the arena, two chefs' dishes were being critiqued by another contestant, an old senior figure in the culinary world. The tasting elder pointed and said, "This time, Hoshino Taira wins.
Among the same dishes, his dish has better meat texture."
As soon as he spoke, the person who lost the cooking match pulled out ten 10,000 yen bills from his wallet and slammed them onto the table.
"Again! Change the theme." The person who lost the match was very unconvinced, saying fiercely, "This time, the prize money is 200,000 yen. Whoever loses pays 200,000."
Datu commented to the live camera, "It looks like Japanese underground chefs are having a Shokugeki (cooking duel). They're using money as a prize for their cooking matches."
Betting money on matches was a common form of Shokugeki in the underground culinary world. But who would have thought that they would openly play such high-stakes Shokugeki on a formal program stage?
"Don't tell me to go, guys in the comments. I can't afford to play, and at my level, wouldn't I just be serving them food?" Datu quickly said, seeing the instigation in the comments. He knew his own limitations. Going up against these people would most likely be a complete loss!
---__________________________
🍊 Boost This Fanfic! 🍊
Every 350 Power Stones gets 2 bonus chapters! 🚀
Want faster updates? Show your support by dropping Power Stones, leaving reviews, and sharing your thoughts in the comments! Your engagement keeps the story going strong!